Spectral Energy Distributions and Luminosities of Galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei in theSpitzerWide-Area Infrared Extragalactic (SWIRE) Legacy Survey
- 1 March 2005
- journal article
- Published by American Astronomical Society in The Astronomical Journal
- Vol. 129 (3) , 1183-1197
- https://doi.org/10.1086/428001
Abstract
We discuss optical associations, spectral energy distributions and photometric redshifts for SWIRE sources in the ELAIS-N1 area and the Lockman Validation Field. The band-merged IRAC (3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 mu) and MIPS (24, 70, 160 mu) data have been associated with optical UgriZ data from the INT Wide Field Survey in ELAIS-N1, and with our own optical Ugri data in Lockman-VF. The spectral energy distributions of selected ELAIS sources in N1 detected by SWIRE, most with spectroscopic redshifts, are modelled in terms of a simple set of galaxy and quasar templates in the optical and near infrared, and with a set of dust emission templates (cirrus, M82 starburst, Arp 220 starburst, and AGN dust torus) in the mid infrared. The optical data, together with the IRAC 3.6 and 4.5 mu data, have been used to determine photometric redshifts. For galaxies with known spectroscopic redshifts there is a notable improvement in the photometric redshift when the IRAC data are used, with a reduction in the rms scatter from 10% in (1+z) to 7%. The photometric redshifts are used to derive the 3.6 and 24 mu redshift distribution and to compare this with the predictions of models. For those sources with a clear mid infrared excess, relative to the galaxy starlight model used for the optical and near infrared, the mid and far infrared data are modelled in terms of the same dust emission templates. The proportions found of each template type are: cirrus 31%, M82 29%, Arp 220 10%, AGN dust tori 29%. The distribution of the different infrared sed types in the L_{ir}/L_{opt} versus L_{ir} plane, where L_{ir} and L_{opt} are the infrared and optical bolometric luminosities, is discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication by Astronomical Journal, 21 figures (5 in colour). Fig 3 available at http://astro.ic.ac.uk/~mrrKeywords
All Related Versions
This publication has 40 references indexed in Scilit:
- A study of the 15- m quasars in the ELAIS N1 and N2 fieldsMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2004
- ImpZ: a new photometric redshift code for galaxies and quasarsMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2004
- The Nature of Faint 24 Micron Sources Seen in Spitzer Space Telescope Observations of ELAIS‐N1The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 2004
- Optically Faint Counterparts to theInfrared Space ObservatoryFIRBACK 170 Micron Population: Discovery of Cold, Luminous Galaxies at High RedshiftThe Astrophysical Journal, 2002
- The Infrared Spectral Energy Distribution of Normal Star‐forming GalaxiesThe Astrophysical Journal, 2001
- Analysis of isoplanatic high resolution stellar fields by the StarFinder codeAstronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series, 2000
- The Evolution of Dust Opacity in GalaxiesThe Astrophysical Journal, 1999
- Dusty discs in active galactic nucleiMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1995
- Lyman-alpha emission in star-forming galaxies - Low-redshift counterparts of primeval galaxies?The Astrophysical Journal, 1992
- Compact starbursts in ultraluminous infrared galaxiesThe Astrophysical Journal, 1991